[dceddia]

So many comments in here interpreting “lifetime license” as “lifetime updates”. Ugh. As a person with a one-time purchase product I feel the pain of trying to succinctly explain the idea of “one time purchase, comes with updates for 1 year / 1 major version”.

msarca - it might be worth looking at the wording on CleanShot’s pricing page. I notice they avoid the word “lifetime” entirely. I wonder how much confusion they still get.

[gman83]

It's confusing because the pricing page literally states "Enjoy the benefits of our lifetime license and get access to all features and upcoming updates with a one-off payment."

[msarca]

What is confusing? Since the launch, we have released 10 updates, and we'll continue to release new updates until v1 reaches its EOL. Then, the updates will stop, but you will still be able to use the software. It seems pretty straightforward to me.

[lemming]

I sell software with a similar licence. I'd say that get access to all features and upcoming updates is incompatible with Then, the updates will stop. At a very minimum it's confusing, but it sounds fairly deceptive to me. I think being really clear about what users will receive is paramount, even if it ends up making the messaging confusing.

[msarca]

Thank you for sharing your opinion. The primary reason people buy Expressive Animator is its high quality. The perpetual license is just a bonus. It's sad to hear words like "deceptive" from a fellow entrepreneur, but don't worry, I've grown a thick skin over the last years.

[enumjorge]

> The primary reason people buy Expressive Animator is its high quality

You keep talking past people.

The feedback they're sharing is very simple. It's not super clear from your sales copy if my purchase gets me access to all updates forever, or if those are limited to the current major version. The way you're intending it to work is simple, yes, but your sales copy doesn't reflect that.

It seems like an easily solvable problem, tweak your sales copy to clarify, but instead you keep digging your heels. Fine, it's your company. I'm not a lawyer, but generally I'd be worried about making a bunch of sales if its not clear to my customers what exactly their buying. I don't get why you'd take such a chance when the fix is so simple, but again, it's your company.

[lemming]

I have no problem at all with your licensing model, I currently use the same one myself. I just think your messaging needs to be clear.

[dullcrisp]

Keep it up maybe in a few more years you’ll be able to take feedback without getting defensive about it.

[Hard_Space]

'Lifetime' not only has a Legacy meaning of 'updates forever', but is still used in a less disingenuous way by major products such as Plex [1]. The reactions you've got on this page are a clear indication to abandon the deceptive wording that you lead with (the truth being hidden in an accordian FAQ).

[1] https://www.plex.tv/en-ca/plans/

[msarca]

TBH, I'm a bit surprised by this interpretation, as we don't have this problem with customers. Maybe it's an HN thing. I think we were only asked once or twice about how updates work. I'll take a look at CleanShot though. Thanks!

[dceddia]

Have you hit the point where they have to pay again, yet?

My product was originally offered as “one time purchase, one year of updates”, and the customer confusion/anger didn’t show up until I offered a discounted early renewal over Black Friday a few years back.

[msarca]

No, not yet, but I'm confident our customers will not be confused. We'll see.